Patient strategy pays off for FBI in ending Oregon standoff

The peaceful resolution to the standoff, which had lasted 41 days and resulted in one death, signaled a victory for the FBI's patient, "low burn" approach to the trespassers, and reflected lessons federal agents have learned since bloody standoffs at Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in the 1990s.

The holdouts were the last remnants of a larger group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2, demanding the U.S. turn over the land to locals and release two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires, in a controversy that exposed simmering anger over the government's control of vast expanses of Western land.

The group's leaders, including Ammon Bundy, were arrested Jan. 26 during a traffic stop along the snowy highway to the town of John Day, where they were due to appear at a community forum.

At least 25 people have now been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to impede employees at the wildlife refuge from performing their duties.

The refuge, a haven for many species of migratory waterfowl, will remain closed to the public for weeks, said Greg Bretzing, the agent in charge of the FBI's Portland division.

Bomb squads planned to sweep buildings for explosives, and specialists must try to determine whether the occupiers damaged any artifacts or burial grounds sacred to the Burns Paiute Tribe — with an eye toward uncovering any violations of the Native American Graves and Repatriation Protection Act and the Archeological Resources Protection Act, he said.

Like the others arrested, the four final occupiers are charged with conspiracy to impede federal employees, a felony that would cost them their right to carry guns if convicted.